Overhead hanger

ABSTRACT

A downcomer shaped as a channel is attached to a four-sided stud welded to a supporting surface. The central web of the downcomer engages one side of the stud and its side flanges are spaced from two additional sides of the stud. A U-shaped member overlies the remaining side of the stud, with side flanges of the U-shaped member positioned in the spaces between the side flanges of the downcomer and the adjacent sides of the stud. Fasteners hold the assembly together.

This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 611,767,filed Nov. 13, 1990, now Pat. No. 5,088,675, for Overhead Hanger.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the construction of ships, it is customary to suspend light fixturesand other items of equipment from the deck above, or other supportingsurface, so that the fixture or other item is positioned in the areadesired. In the past, the arrangements for supporting light fixtures orother items of equipment have been expensive, difficult to install, andunduly complex and heavy. Installation has been time consuming andcostly. Adjustment of the support has not been possible.

The long-accepted way of securing light fixtures has involved a verytime consuming procedure in which pipe supports are welded to a deck.This takes around one-half hour per light fixture to complete. It hasbeen proposed to provide a threaded connection to allow a more rapidattachment. However, this has required rotation of the entire lightfixture which is impossible for a light fixture of any appreciablelength within the confines of narrow spaces found in both naval andcommercial ships.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an improved support, primarily for useaboard ships, which is of simplified construction, is lightweight,economical to make, and easy to install. The attachment is strong andrigid and the position of the support may be varied.

The supporting device is adapted for use with a stud that is welded to aship deck or other supporting surface. This type of stud ordinarily isused as the support for a vertical angle serving as the downcomer of awireway system, and has had nothing to do with the suspension offixtures and equipment. The stud has a cylindrical portion which iswelded to the deck, beneath which is a four-sided section in which flatsides are connected by finite rounded corners. Two openings extendthrough the lower part of the stud. In its conventional use, the twoflanges of the downcomer angle engage two of the flat sides of the stud,and bolts extend through one of the flanges and the stud to make anattachment.

The supporting device of the invention includes a bottom part which maybe shaped to fit any item which is to be suspended by the support. Atubular member carries the bottom part, being welded to it, and projectsupwardly from it. Both of these parts are readily produced on a punchpress. The upper end portion of the tubular member is collapsed so thatit provides opposite contiguous walls which are shaped tocomplementarily overlie one side of the stud and to extend around two ofits corners. To this end, the upper part of the tubular member is givena U-shaped configuration with a generally flat central part connectingto two side flanges at rounded interior corners. Openings are providedthrough the collapsed portion of the tubular member to receive fastenersthat connect the device to the stud. Because the upper part of thetubular member complementarily overlies one side portion of the stud,this results in a rigid secure connection.

The upper part of the tubular member may be made elongated, with aseries of spaced openings through it. This permits adjustment of thelength of the upper part and hence the height of the device beingsuspended. If the suspended device is to be at a low level, the twouppermost openings through the upper part of the tubular member areutilized. To raise the level of the suspended item, a portion of theupper end part of the tubular member may be cut off to use a differentset of openings for the attachment to the stud.

The support can be bolted to the stud in only a few moments. Welding thestud to the deck occupies about thirty seconds. Therefore, the entireattachment is accomplished very rapidly. It has been estimated that asavings of $90 in labor will be effected in installing each lightfixture aboard a ship.

Inasmuch as the supporting device is not welded, it may be made ofaluminum rather than steel. This results in a significant savings inweight over conventional techniques. This is a matter of importance,especially for naval ships which must carry enormous amounts ofelectronic and other equipment which undesirably raises the center ofgravity.

The supporting device is removable simply by removing two bolts to allowthe item supported to be repaired or replaced. In the conventionalarrangement it has been necessary to cut off the support for removal,again an expensive and time consuming operation.

In a wireway system, a downcomer formed as a channel also may beattached to the stud by means of a special adapter. The latter elementis a U-shaped piece that extends around part of the stud and fitsbetween the side flanges of the downcomer. The adapter has two openingsthrough its central portion which match the two openings in the stud aswell as any two of the series of openings in the downcomer. Fasteners,therefore, can be extended through the adapter, the stud and thedowncomer thereby rigidly securing the downcomer to the stud.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the supporting arrangement ofthis invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the supporting arrangement inits secured position;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an upper end elevational view of the tubular member of thesupporting arrangement;

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of supportingarrangement which is adjustable in its length;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of an arrangement for attaching adowncomer channel to a deck or other support; and

FIG. 8 is a transverse sectional view illustrating the connection of thedowncomer to the stud by means of an adapter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a stud 10 of conventional design is securedby a weld 11 to a deck 12 so as to form a vertical depending post. Thestud 10 includes a cylindrical upper portion 13, the upper end of whichis welded to the deck 12. Below the cylindrical portion 13 the stud 10includes four flats 14, 15, 16 and 17 that extend to the bottom end 18of the stud and are arranged in a square pattern. The flats 14 and 17are parallel and are at right angles to the other parallel flats 15 and16. Convexly rounded corners 19, 20, 21 and 22 interconnect the adjacentflats 14, 15, 16 and 17. Extending through the stud are two spacedcylindrical openings 24 and 25 which extend from the flat 14 to the flat17. The axes of the openings 24 and 25 are parallel to each other andalso to the flats 15 and 16.

The support bracket 27 of this invention includes a tube 28 which at itslower end carries a device configured to support a light fixture, alarm,or other item of equipment used aboard a ship. In the embodiment ofFIGS. 1 through 3, the support at the bottom end of the tube 28 is aflat plate 29 having three projecting portions 30, 31 and 32 throughwhich are formed openings 33, 34 and 35. An upstanding flange 36 extendsaround the periphery of the plate 29.

An opening is formed in the center of the plate 29, with a section ofthe plate being bent upwardly, as illustrated, so as to form a shorttubular section 38 defining the wall of the opening, which has a lengthequal to the width of the flange 36. The tube 28 is complementarilyreceived in the opening, in the tubular section 38 of the plate 29, anda weld 39 is formed where the end of the tube 28 is opposite from therounded corner at the lower end of the tubular section 38. An additionalweld 40 is formed at the opposite end of the tubular section 38, therebysecurely attaching the plate 29 to the tube 28.

The upper end portion 42 of the tube 28 is collapsed so that theopposite walls of the tube engage each other. This portion of the tube28 is formed to a substantially U-shaped configuration, as best seen inthe end view of FIG. 4. This provides opposite edge flanges 43 and 44,which are slightly curved so as to be concave on the inside. Theintermediate section 45 that interconnects the flanges 43 and 44 isflat. Spaced openings 46 and 47 are formed in the intermediate portion45 between the flanges 43 and 44.

As the device of this invention is used, the upper portion 42 of thetube 28 fits around one side of the lower portion of the stud 10. Thisis a generally complementary engagement with the intermediate portion 45of the member 28 bearing against one of the flats of the stud 10 and theflanges 43 and 44 extending around and beyond two of the curved cornersof the stud. In the example shown the intermediate portion 45 bearsagainst the flat 17 and the corners 21 and 22 are engaged by the flanges43 and 44. The flanges extend beyond the corners 21 and 22, and areadjacent the flats 15 and 16. The openings 46 and 47 in the upperportion 42 of the member 48 match the openings 24 and 25 in the stud 10.Bolts 49 and 50 then are extended through the openings 46 and 47 and thecorresponding openings 24 and 25 in the stud 10. With the nuts securedon the bolts, the attachment is complete.

This is a very strong and rigid attachment because of the way the upperportion 42 of the member 28 complementarily receives the lower portionof the stud 10. Relative movement in all directions is restricted by theengagement of the side flanges 43 and 44, as well as the intermediateportion 45 of the member 28 with the stud 10, which engagement extendsfor a substantial length along the stud. The strength of the connectionis enhanced because of the double-walled construction at the upper end42 of the member 28 resulting from the collapse of this portion of themember 28 so that its opposite walls are brought into interengagement.

In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the tubular member 52, which corresponds tothe tube 28 of the previously described embodiment, carries a shallowchannel 53 instead of the plate 29 described above. This is merely anexample of the several different kinds of devices which may be attachedto the tubular member of this invention. The attachment is by welding asfor the attachment of the tube 28 to the plate 29. Openings 54 areprovided in the channel 53 so that an item of equipment may be suspendedfrom the channel 53 after installation.

The upper portion 56 of the member 52 has a cross-sectionalconfiguration the same as that of the upper portion 42 of the tube 28.Thus, the upper portion 56 is adapted to complementarily receive oneside portion of the stud 10. However, unlike the design of FIGS. 1through 3, the upper portion 56 is made longer and provided with fiveopenings 57 through it rather than only two openings. This allows thelength of the support device to be varied to suit conditionsencountered. To suspend an item at a low level relative to the deckabove it, the top two openings 57 are matched with the openings 24 and25 in the stud 10 so that the supporting device has a maximum effectivelength. If an item is to be suspended at a higher elevation, a part ofthe upper portion 56 is simply cut off so that the effective length ofthe supporting device becomes less. For example, for support at amaximum elevation, the upper portion 56 is cut off a short distanceabove the lower two openings 57. This reduces the length of thesupporting device so that the item suspended from the channel 53 is at ahigher elevation than if other openings 57 were utilized. Of course, theportion 56 may be varied in dimension so as to include more or less thanthe five openings illustrated in FIG. 6.

The embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8 shows the manner in which a downcomerformed as a channel for supporting wireways may be attached to the stud10. Here the downcomer 59 is of conventional design, being a channelwith a series of openings 60 through its central web. Wireways, notshown, may be attached to the downcomer 59 such as for exampleillustrated in patent 4,960,253.

In order to achieve a secure connection to the stud 10, a U-shaped piece61 is formed which has a shape generally similar to the upper portions42 and 56 of the tubular members 28 and 52 previously described. TheU-shaped piece includes a flat central portion 62 which connects throughrounded corners 63 and 64 to side flanges 65 and 66. This enables themember 61 to generally complementarily receive one side portion of thestud 10. The rounded corners, such as the corners 19 and 20 of the stud,fit within the rounded corners 63 and 64 of the member 61. The sideflanges 65 and 66 of the member 61 receive side portions of the stud 10,that is, the flats 15 and 16, while the outer surfaces of the sideflanges 65 and 66 fit closely within the side flanges 67 and 68 of thedowncomer 59. Openings 69 extend through the central web 62 of themember 61 and match the openings 24 and 25 through the stud 10.

Bolts 70 then secure the downcomer 59 and the U-shaped member 61securely to the stud 10, as shown in FIG. 7. Because of the fit of themember 61 around the stud 10 and within the side flanges 67 and 68 ofthe downcomer 59, relative angular motion is precluded and the downcomeris rigidly attached to the stud 10.

The foregoing detailed description is to be clearly understood as givenby way of illustration and example only, the spirit and scope of thisinvention being limited solely by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. In combination with a stud attached to asupporting surface so as to depend therefrom, said stud having a lowerportion provided with four flat sides arranged in a square pattern andinterconnected by finite corners, and having at least one openingextending transversely therethrough and interconnecting two of said flatsides, a supporting device comprisinga channel having a central web andtwo spaced flanges extending therefrom,said central web having aplurality of openings therethrough, said central web engaging one ofsaid sides of said stud with one of said openings in said central webaligned with said opening in said stud and said side flanges spaced fromtwo additional sides of said stud, a U-shaped member having a centralportion having at least one opening therethrough, and overlying the sideof said portion of said stud opposite from said one side with saidopening in said central portion aligned with said opening in saidstud,said U-shaped member having side flanges overlying said additionalsides of said stud and being received within and adjacent said flangesof said channel, and a fastener extending through said opening in saidcentral portion, said opening in said stud and said one opening in saidweb, thereby to secure said channel to said stud and precludesubstantial relative movement therebetween.
 2. A device as recited inclaim 1 in which said central portion of said U-shaped member issubstantially flat.
 3. A device as recited in claim 1 in which saidcentral portion of said U-shaped member is substantially flat, said sideflanges of said U-shaped member are substantially flat and are connectedto said central portion through rounded corner portions of said U-shapedmember.
 4. A device as recited in claim 3 in which said finite cornersof said stud are rounded and are received in said rounded cornerportions of said U-shaped member.
 5. A device as recited in claim 1 inwhich there are at least two openings extending transversely throughsaid lower portion of said stud and at least two openings through saidcentral portion of said U-shaped member, one of said openings throughsaid stud being aligned with one of said openings through said centralportion and one of said openings in said central web, the other of saidopenings through said stud being aligned with the other of said openingsthrough said central portion and with another of said openings in saidcentral web, and including a fastener extending through each set of saidaligned openings for so securing said channel to said stud.
 6. Incombination with a stud attached to a supporting surface so as to dependtherefrom, said stud having a lower portion provided with four flatsides arranged in a square pattern and interconnected by four finiterounded corners, and having at least two parallel openings extendingtransversely therethrough and interconnecting two of said flat sides, asupporting device comprisinga channel having a central web and twospaced flanges extending therefrom,said central web having a pluralityof longitudinally spaced openings therethrough, said central webengaging one of said sides of said stud with two of said openings insaid central web aligned with said openings in said stud and said sideflanges spaced from two additional sides of said stud, a U-shaped memberhaving a central portion having at least two openings therethrough, andoverlying the side of said portion of said stud opposite from said oneside, with said openings in said central portion aligned with saidopenings in said stud, and with said two openings in said centralweb,said U-shaped member having side flanges overlying said additionalsides of said stud and being closely received within and adjacent saidflanges of said channel, and having rounded corners interconnecting saidcentral portion and said side flanges of said U-shaped member, saidcorners of said U-shaped member receiving two of said corners of saidportion of said stud, and a duality of fasteners extending through saidaligned openings, thereby to secure said channel to said stud andpreclude substantial relative movement therebetween.